Chelsea held the upper hand after the first half, taking the lead in the 37th minute following a Reece James corner and a delicate flick from Joao Pedro. However, Emery brought Watkins off the bench in the 58th minute, and by the 63rd minute, Watkins had leveled the score at 1-1, going one-on-one with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. In the 84th minute, the 29-year-old English striker added his second goal, heading home from a corner kick.
“Amazing, amazing win. Obviously, it’s a great feeling to come on and score two goals, but to extend this run and beat Chelsea at their stadium is truly amazing,” Aston Villa’s website quoted Watkins, who also elaborated on coach Emery’s tactical changes for the second half: “Chelsea was man-marking, but they also had a free center-back when we played long balls. When I came on in the second half, the coach put Sancho and Rogers on the wings, which gave us more space. And then he moved Tielemans to the number ten position, giving us more attacking presence. A tactical genius, I’d say.”
Emery’s squad equaled a club record set by their predecessors in 1897 and later matched in 1914. They currently sit third in the league table, just three points behind leaders Arsenal. They are set to face the league leaders away on Tuesday.
“It was fantastic how the players reacted on the pitch. In the first half, we struggled, we weren’t on the ball and in the opponent’s box as often, but we needed to defend, which we did brilliantly. We conceded a goal from a corner and needed to change something. We started playing better, we needed fresh legs, and what the players showed was fantastic. Beating Chelsea at their stadium is very difficult; our next challenge is Arsenal,” Emery declared.
The “Gunners” briefly dropped to second place on Saturday, but Manchester City’s victory didn’t faze them, as they defeated Brighton 2-1 at the Emirates. Martin Odegaard opened the scoring in the 14th minute, finding the net with a shot from the edge of the box after a pass from Bukayo Saka. In the 52nd minute, following a Declan Rice corner, Georginio Rutter headed the ball into his own net, and the visitors pulled one back in the 64th minute through Diego Gomez, who scored on a rebound after the ball hit the post.
“Brighton’s goal changed the situation a bit, and the opponent pressed us towards the end, but we got three points, which is all that matters. We take many positives, and we also have things to improve on, but overall it was a good game, with a winning end again,” the Norwegian midfielder Odegaard rejoiced, according to AP. Mikel Arteta’s side now boasts a five-game winning streak across all competitions.
Between Arsenal and Aston Villa in the table sits Manchester City, who secured a 2-1 victory away at Nottingham Forest and are now two points behind the leaders. Pep Guardiola’s men recorded their sixth consecutive Premier League win and eighth across all competitions. They took the lead early in the second half thanks to Tijjani Reijnders, who capitalized on a pass from Rayan Cherki inside the box.
Just in the 54th minute, Omari Hutchinson equalized from an Igor Jesus cross, opening his goal-scoring account for the “Forest.” However, in the 83rd minute, Cherki sealed the visitors’ victory with a shot from inside the penalty area, set up by Joško Gvardiol after a corner kick.
The “Citizens” thus fulfilled their role as favorites, albeit narrowly. “After Christmas, I was overweight, and I shed those kilos during the match. Very, very important three points,” AFP quoted Guardiola. This time, it was Cherki, not Erling Haaland, who propelled the Manchester blue team to victory.
“It’s a big win. When you come to Nottingham, you know the game will be a war. I’m proud of the team. Erling told me during the week that if I scored, I should do his celebration, so I did, and I’m happy,” the 22-year-old Frenchman, who shone with his second goal and seventh assist of the current Premier League season, told the Man City club website.